SEBEWAING — Unionville-Sebewaing Area's football team is on its best three-year run in a decade.

The Patriots have made it to the postseason the past three years, going 19-12 in that span.Second-year head coach Josh Hahn is hopeful the team can keep heading in the right direction.

If USA is going to remain a fixture in the playoffs, it will have to do so with a razor thin roster, which features just 14 varsity players.

"We have a good group of kids, we don't have a lot of them, but the ones we have, have been here all winter and summer," said Hahn. "If we do all the little things right, the games will take care of themselves.

Added Hahn: "It's a calculated risk. Kids have to be ready to play, so you have to give them contact in practice. To say that we can pound three, four, five days a week — we can't do that now.

"We have to be smart about how we condition and with that many guys, we have to be in good shape. But also be fundamentally sound, so guys aren't getting injured."

JUNIOR VARSITY WOES

Like many schools in the area, USA has seen a steep drop in junior varsity participation.Currently, the Patriots feature just 11 on the JV roster.

"We'll go as long as we can. Kids come out late, especially freshmen," Hahn said. "We'll probably work with other schools to see if we can eliminate some of the special teams, kind of like we do in junior high.

"If we have an injury, we will have to evaluate it."

PRESEASON INJURIES

Adding to USA's numbers issue is a couple of injuries before practice even began.

Micah Cramer was tabbed to be the quarterback, but is recovering from an injury suffered in basketball.

Meanwhile, sophomore Keegan Bixman had offseason knee surgery.

SO LONG SENIORS

The USA athletic program saw a talented group of seniors depart.

Along the way, outgoing seniors helped the football team make the playoffs, the basketball team, win league, district and regional championships and the baseball team advance to the state title game.

That leaves this year's team with six seniors and plenty of holes to fill.

"For us, we have a pretty young team," Hahn said. "We have six seniors, but the rest of them are juniors and sophomores. They're going to be inexperienced, so this is going to be a big learning year for them. It's about how fast they can pick things up and how well we can execute.

Added Hahn: "We had a really big senior class and a lot of them are playing college baseball and college basketball, so we had some pretty good athletes. Those are tough shoes to fill.

"But like every program, you try to reload, rather than rebuild. We expect juniors to make the big leap as seniors."

READY TO STEP UP

Junior Landin Zimmer will lead the Patriots from the quarterback position.

"He's been doing a great job all summer and the early part of summer practices, so I expect a lot from him," Hahn said.

On both lines, senior Jeremy Pawlowski will be an anchor.

Chase Suber and Matthew Harrison should see plenty of time in both the offensive and defensive backfields.

SETTLING IN

Hahn's second year at the helm for USA wasn't a given.

The one-time Patriot standout, is the high school principal, meaning he had to learn to juggle the responsibilities of being an administrator, along with those of a coach.

"I didn't make the decision (to come back) right after the season," Hahn said. "I love coaching football and being with these guys, but there are a lot of other duties I have at the school. I had to see how that played out last year and how it played out at home."

Added Hahn: "It's good to be back. We're a lot more in the routine. There's not so much to teach the kids — it's more expected now."

LEAGUE OUTLOOK

USA finished third in the Greater Thumb West, a season ago, behind Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port and Cass City.

The GTW has grown by a team, with the addition of Caro, making it even tougher.

"Caro coming in is a good add for our league," Hahn said. "We've been playing them in other sports for years. I worked there and Dave Bitzer is there, so we have a pretty good connection.

"I think this will be good for their school and their kids."Hahn tabbed the Lakers and Red Hawks as the early favorites, but said the league top to bottom looks very challenging.

"A lot of things have to come together to make that happen," Hahn said about challenging for a league championship and making the playoffs. "With our numbers, health is going to be a big one. We're inexperienced, so it will be how fast the kids pick things up. I think we do those things, we can absolutely replicate what we've been doing."

THE REST OF THE SCHEDULE

The crossover games will see USA have its traditional meetings with Ubly (Aug. 24 home) and

Harbor Beach (Oct. 5 home), along with a Week 9 road game at Brown City.

Among their all-time opponents, the Patriots have played the Pirates the second most at 45 times (16-29) and the Bearcats the fourth most at 38 (18-20).

Added Hahn of playing Ubly in Week 1: "It's a good old fashion fist fight, with who can grind it out the longest. Ubly is very similar to what we do, it's always a good game and a good test to see where we're at."